There is some chance that Braden, in particular, would return on a one-year deal or minor-league deal at some point this winter if he does not find an offer he prefers on the open market. The A’s, however, have little need for pitching at this point, and without a logical place for either to slot in at the big-league level, this very well could be the end of the line for both Braden and Devine with the A’s.

Braden is still in the strengthening portion of his rehab from surgery to repair a partial rotator cuff, and he should resume throwing in about a month or so. He expects to be ready to pitch in a game by midseason, and he believes he will not have trouble finding a job.

“That will take care of itself,” he said. “I’m left-handed and I have a heartbeat.”

Braden is best known for his 2010 perfect game on Mothers Day (plus his verbal sparring with Yankees star Alex Rodriguez that same season) and Devine was for several years considered a potential closer option for Oakland, but he could not stay healthy. Devine, 29, had a remarkable 2008 rookie season with the A’s, with an 0.59 ERA in 42 appearances, the lowest among major-league pitchers with 25 or more innings worked since ERA became a statistic in 1912.

Devine told me that season is among his top memories of his “incredible time” in Oakland, but he is ready to move on.

“It was time for a change,” he said. “I love that coaching staff there, and to miss that has been tough, but I’ll always respect those guys, Bob and his staff and those players.”

Devine had hoped to be allowed to begin his rehab with Oakland in September to help support his teammates in person, but he was not. He still watched all of the team’s game and was glued to the TV for their run to the AL West title and their division series.

“I was so happy for them and hoping they’d go all the way,” Devine said. “But I knew the writing was on the wall for me in Oakland when I said I’d love to come back and rehab there and was told every possible reason I couldn’t go, like the clubhouse was too small and the trainers too busy.

“But I’m so proud of that bullpen – all those young guys, to see what they did. The Sean Doolittle story is so amazing. I faced him when he was at UVA, so I knew it would just be a matter of him getting back into the routine of pitching, but that’s a tremendous story.”

Devine is throwing at a distance of 90 feet and he said that for the first time in seven or eight years, his elbow is entirely pain free. “It’s a non-issue now,” he said. “And a fresh start is a good thing.”